Cronos says of the album that “this album has really pushed the boundaries, but if you want to make a killer album, you pay for it in blood, sweat and tears.” Venom’s current guitarist, Rage, added that “I’m so proud of this album. It’s astounding! It feels so different, yet so familiar. The sonics are a step up, no song sounds the same, but they all work together.”

The single released is classic Venom – fast, edgy and dark. The title echoes their seminal 1982 album, ‘Black Metal’, which gave the lo-fi, satanic and explicitly blasphemous subgenre its name. “Lay down your soul to the gods, rock and roll!” exclaimed the original in a war cry that almost single-handedly birthed extreme metal, and Venom have picked up there, the track deliberately sounding like their older work and less like the out-and-out thrash metal that they toyed with in the later 1980s.

This lineup of Venom, consisting of Conrad “Cronos” Lant, Stuart “Rage” Dixon and drummer Danny “Dante” Needham, have been together since 2009. The band’s lineup changes have been frequent since their formation in 1979. Their golden-age lineup of Cronos, Mantas and Abaddon fragmented in the later 1980s as they were overtaken in heaviness by thrashers like Metallica and Slayer and death metal bands like Death and Obituary. Mantas and Abaddon were until 2018 touring in a separate incarnation of Venom, named Venom Inc., but have since fallen out again.

Their last album, 2018’s ‘Storm the Gates’, was released through the Spinefarm record label. Though some liked the album and enjoyed their harking back to their glory days, one reviewer said of the album that it carries “half its weight in strong songs, [but] the other half is largely made up of forgettable filler”, awarding it three stars out of five. Their album before that, 2015’s ‘From the Very Depths’, fared little better, awarded a measly two stars in Rolling Stone, dismissed as “a bit of a slog”. 

Venom are no doubt one of the most important, if unsung, bands in heavy metal history. Inspired by the stage theatrics of KISS, the driving sound of Judas Priest, the speed of Motorhead and the aggression of hardcore punk, they spawned metal’s first subgenre before diversifying. Despite being cited as an influence by early thrash bands like Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica, they stand alone, entirely musically distinct with their original aggression. 

After drawing critical praise for their debut album, 2021’s Our Bodies Burned Bright On Re-Entry, Underdark managed to turn the head of many labels, with Church Road winning the opportunity to represent the band and help set them on their way to the top of the genre’s lists of acts to watch out for. The new record, Managed Decline, is due for a release on 24th November and will see the band exploring themes of what they describe as political decline over the course of a few generations in Britain.

Front-woman Abi Vazquez said of Managed Decline, that it is a “‘story told over three generations about the degradation experienced by the residents of a post-industrial town in the Midlands. I wanted to explore the long term effects of Thatcherite neoliberalism and the slow-burning disaster they’ve caused for people here. Each generation has to make do with less, and turns to more extreme vices to cope as the loss of purpose and community sets in.”

Amidst the political and economic issues facing Britain and the wider world today, many fans will undoubtedly find common cause with the lyrical content of Underdark’s message. The band are certainly not holding back both lyrically and sonically for their new album, with “Enterprise (1st November 2004)” described by the band as being one of the heaviest songs on the record.

Speaking of the new single, Abi described the song as, “the most aggressive song on the album so it’s fitting that it’s the darkest part of the story. A father and daughter are earning money – by pimping the kid to buy dope. I wrote it to also serve as a metaphor for the fetishisation of entrepreneurship in neoliberal society.” 

In anticipation of the album’s release, the band have shared the track list and artwork which can be viewed on the band’s social media platforms. Pre-orders for the album can be found here.

To celebrate the great news, Underdark have covered Bristol trip hop innovators Massive Attack’s “Unfinished Sympathy”-a version of the song unlike any other. Speaking of the label and new song, the band said, “We are beyond excited to announce that our second album Managed Decline is coming out on Church Road Records. Church Road is a label we’ve long admired and to be able to release our second album through them is truly an honour. We believe this album represents a big leap forward for us as artists and we’re very grateful to be able to share it with you all. In the meantime, enjoy this cover of Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy we crafted in between work on the new album.”


The group set out to experiment with a genre that was, as some might say, out of their comfort zone and they definitely chose a style of music that could not be much more different sonically from their own. But this is part of the appeal for the Nottingham five-piece, as they acknowledge that interacting with different forms of music can actually be a positive challenge for any band and one that allows for an alternative interpretation.

Underdark began in 2015 from humble roots in Nottingham, England but after adding Abi Vasquez in 2019 the band took off, becoming a success through DIY approaches to the music industry and staying true to what inspires them. With biting, poignant lyrics that cover everything from personal emotions to anti-fascism, Underdark are careful not to be pigeon-holed into a specific classification. Instead, the band prefer to focus on issues that may hit closer to home, basing their message around real world issues that everyday people will encounter. This makes Underdark one of the most gripping and promising bands in the Brit-black metal scene.

We are headed back to the UK this January with @DawnRayd. pic.twitter.com/wU9F5gCAt6

— portrayal of guilt (@portrayalof) October 20, 2021

Portrayal of Guilt has had an extremely busy year as a band; in addition to the announcement of these upcoming tours, the group already have two releases under their belt this year, which will soon be followed by their second full-length album release of 2021. Initially, the band started the year strong, releasing their second album We Are Always Alone on January 29^th. The album was very well-received and builds upon the ferocious hardcore/screamo sound the band had already established with their 2018 debut album, accentuating the black metal sensibilities in their music with furious tremolo-picked guitars and cavernous screamed vocals.

In August, Portrayal of Guilt released a split 7” single with noise-rockers Chat Pile. The release features two songs; “Touched By An Angel” by Portrayal of Guilt and “Brutal Truth” by Chat Pile, and was released on the band’s own label, Portrayal of Guilt Records. The record label, which is run out of Austin, Texas, was established in 2020 and has currently put out four additional releases on top of the Portrayal of Guilt/Chat Pile split release, including ApexPredator by God Is War and a live recording by hardcore/screamo outfit Slow Fire Pistol.

Astonishingly, Portrayal of Guilt are not quite finished with their musical output for 2021, and on November 5^th, the band will deliver their third LP CHRISTFUCKER. The band has released two singles from the album thus far; “Possession” and “…where the suffering never ends”. According to Run For Cover Records, guitarist and vocalist Matt King said of the new album; “We think of it partially in the sense of scoring a horror movie” and “We wanted to create an atmosphere of anxiety and fear.”

Portrayal of Guilt’s musical catalogue is available via all streaming services as well as Bandcamp, and physical copies of their music are available online via Run For Cover Records. The band also has pre-orders available for CHRISTFUCKER, which includes numerous vinyl variants, shirts and cassette tapes.

Listed down below are Portrayal of Guilt’s upcoming UK tour dates. Tickets are available here.

13/01/2022- The Exchange- Bristol
14/01- The Key Club- Leeds
15/01- The Classic Grand- Glasgow
16/01- Upsurge Festival- London
17/01- Green Door Store- Brighton